Breaking Down ‘Saul’: Season 2, Episode 6, “Bali Ha’i”

This week’s episode of Better Call Saulfinds Jimmy back on Kim’s good side, Kim faced with a life-changing opportunity, and Mike in deeper than anticipated with the Salamancas. Unable to fall asleep, Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) watches television and is upset by a bad Davis & Main commercial for Sandpiper. To distract himself, he makes games out of the wicker balls in his apartment, tests out the food in his fridge, and eventually heads to his tiny old office at the nail salon, where he pulls his bed from the couch and finally settles in to sleep with a smile.

Meanwhile, Kim (Rhea Seehorn) solemnly gets ready for work and puts off leaving, and eventually receives a message from Jimmy, who serenades her with a very poor rendition of “Bali Ha’i” from South Pacific. At HH&M, Kim has received her old office back, but her relationship with Howard remains strained.

At Mike’s house, a young man sent by the Salamancas waits on his doorstep and informs him that Hector is still waiting on an answer regarding the decrease in Tuco’s sentence. Mike declines and the man attempts to threaten him, but Mike pays no mind, and sets up a welcome mat outside his front door with carbon paper underneath it.

After handling a frustrating Sandpiper hearing alone, Kim is invited out to lunch by Rick Schweikart, one of Sandpiper’s lawyers. Schweikart essentially offers Kim a job at his firm after noting that HH&M takes advantage of her, and he leaves his business card with Kim in case she changes her mind.

When Mike arrives home later, he draws his gun after he lifts the welcome mat to reveal footprints. He takes out the two guys sent to “scare him” with shocking ease, and tells them to “try harder next time”. As he washes the blood from his hands and the guns in the sink, he shakes. While at the motel pool with his granddaughter Kaylee later, he is infuriated to look up and find the Salamanca Twins staring back at him across the way, and quickly rushes Kaylee out of the pool. He shakes again, now motivated into action.

After experiencing another injustice at the hands of Howard, Kim escapes the office for the Moscow Mule she turned down at lunch with Schweikart the day before. When a sleazy guy buys her a drink, she calls Jimmy to let him know she’s got a “live one on the hook” and he quickly comes down so that they can resume their Giselle/Viktor con act. They end up tricking the guy into writing them a $10,000 check (he believes he’s investing in an online dating service) and Jimmy spends the night at Kim’s. She tells him about her job offer, which excites Jimmy – he thinks she should take it.

At a meeting with Hector, Nacho, and the twins, Mike tells Hector that his price has now increased to $50,000, but he will go to the DA to reduce Tuco’s sentence. After initial disbelief and some subsequent negotiations, Hector agrees. Nacho comes to Mike’s house after the deal and Mike gives him half – he didn’t finish the original job they agreed upon, so it’s only fair.

As Jimmy leaves Kim’s place, he frustratedly attempts to jam his “World’s 2nd Best Lawyer” coffee mug into the car cup holder once more, and when it doesn’t budge, he breaks it to make it fit – maybe he’s finally going to make things work.

So were there any Breaking Badreferences hidden in Bali Ha’i? Let’s check it out!

What do we have?

Mike and Kaylee are watched by a pair of menacing men from a building above the motel.

Seem familiar?

These are the infamous “Cousins”, Leonel and Marco Salamanca, first seen in Breaking Bad Season 3, Episode 1, “No Más“.

What do we have?

Skull-tipped boots are worn by the terrifying twins.

Seem familiar?

These are the same boots worn by the twins, also first seen in Breaking Bad Season 3, Episode 1, “No Más”

What do we have?

“Giselle” and “Viktor” con the man at the bar into writing them a check for $10,000. It’s a Cradock Marine Bank check made out to “Ice Station Zebra Associates”, a name mentioned before on both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad.

It seems like we’re going to see Jimmy go full Saul next week and watch Mike dive deeper into the folds of the cartel he inevitably becomes involved with – and maybe Kim will even escape HH&M and accept this job offer!